Augustana Women End Season in NCAA Division II Basketball Semifinals

The Augustana women had faith - and little else - in a semifinal 76-54 loss to Dowling College (NY) in Wednesday's semifinal matchup at the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball tournament in San Antonio.

Senior guard Faith Tinklenberg put on quite a show in her final game in a Viking uniform, with an 8-for-17 shooting performance and 21 points to lead Augie, but she was one of the few Augustana players to have a productive night offensively. The Vikings other four starters (Alex Feeney - 2-for-14, Shaunteva Ashley - 1-for-7, Lydia Nelson - 0-for-8, and Emily Schulte - 2-for-6) were a combined 5-35 from the floor for just 14 percent.

Augie's 27 percent shooting as a team was a byproduct of a tough Golden Lion defense, which led the nation in fewest points allowed and lowest opponent shooting percentage.

Dowling was led by Connie Simmons with 24 points, while Danielle Wilson added 18 points and ten rebounds. While the Vikings were struggling from the floor, the Golden Lions were hitting with deadly accuracy - 57 percent from the floor, 62 percent from behind the three-point arc.

Tinklenberg kept Augie in it in the first half, scoring 10 of the Vikings first 13 points to stake her team to a 13-11 lead with 14:28 to play. But with her on the bench, Augustana went cold, and Dowling finished the half on a 28-14 run to grab a 39-27 lead at intermission.

Augie's hopes of getting back in it were quickly dashed when the Golden Lions scored 16 of the first 24 points of the second half, extending their lead to 20 points with a little more than 11 minutes to play.